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Funding to be Used for Key New Hires, Software Platform Enhancements, Entrance into Commercial Aerospace & Rail Markets

Buffalo, N Y, Wednesday, July 26, 2017 – Sentient Science announced today that Toronto, ON-based growth equity firm, Georgian Partners, will fund $22.5 million in a Series B, growth-stage investment in the materials science-based software as a service company. Sentient’s expansion in the wind energy market, providing prognostic health monitoring and life extension actions for fielded wind turbines will soon be available to commercial customers in the aerospace and rail markets.

Capital funds will be used to provide new technical, security and software capabilities within DigitalClone® Live for the continuation of rapid market growth from 20,000 wind turbines to 100,000 globally, and then to 1 million rotating assets as more commercial operators and suppliers in aerospace and rail come on line. Hiring plans include an additional 70 employees, including a chief financial officer, vice president of software, software developers, and sales and marketing staff in the offices located in United States, Europe and China.

“We incentivize our employees with pre-IPO stock options, so we’re very strategic in who we bring in as partners. We’re very excited and proud to be working with Georgian Partners, who is another important partner on our journey to IPO,” said Ward Thomas, CEO & President of Sentient Science. “I am incredibly thankful to our customers in the wind, aerospace and rail markets, and for our brilliant staff and management team who are truly the ‘smartest people in the room.’ Together, they made Q2-2017 our largest sales quarter in our company’s history, while promoting clean energy. I would like to thank Simon Chongof Georgian Partners, for his commitment to help us further our agenda to significantly lower the cost to operate equipment through life extension actions. Sentient Science’s network effect increases the demand for longer life assets and components, and ultimately changes the way the world buys and sells aftermarket products and services through our SaaS platform. This is all completely differentiated, based on materials science versus just big data from sensors.”

“Ward and his impressive team at Sentient Science have a unique technology and business model that lowers the cost of energy through supply and demand integration,” said Simon Chong, Managing Partner at Georgian Partners. “Their DigitalClone Live software fits perfectly with our thesis area for artificial intelligence, and we look forward to working with Sentient to expand technical capabilities and added value within the core applications.”

This is Sentient Science’s third round of funding since its inception in 2001. The United States Federal Government awarded more than $30 million in Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants for the development of the materials science-based software, which has been used on U.S. Government platforms, including the Hubble Telescope, Joint Strike Fighter and Apache and Blackhawk helicopters. NASA also validated the technology in 2010. Sentient was honored at the White House in 2014 with the Tibbetts Award, and in 2016 with the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Pioneers Award for its rapid commercialization in renewable energy. In 2015, TOBA Capital invested $7 million in Series A funding.

Sentient’s scientific team includes computational tribologists, materials scientists, mechanical engineers and data scientists, of whom the company makes available to customers to lower their cost of energy using predictive technologies. Dr. Bolander manages a team of subject-matter experts, including Dr. Raja Pulikollu, Chief Materials Scientist & VP of Implementations; Dr. Adrijan Ribaric, VP of System Technology; Dr. Behrooz Jalalahmadi, VP of Government Research & Development; Dr. Karen Cassidy, VP of Customer Success; and Dr. Nick Weinzapfel,Chief Materials Scientist of Bearing Dynamics.

Georgian Partners is a thesis-driven growth equity firm investing in SaaS-based business software companies exploiting applied artificial intelligence, security first and conversational business. Founded by successful entrepreneurs and technology executives, Georgian Partners leverages our global software expertise to be able to directly impact the success of companies. For more information, visit www.georgianpartners.com.

About Sentient Science:

Sentient Science, headquartered in Buffalo, NY, is a trusted third party to the operators of rotating mechanical equipment like wind and gas turbines, providing materials science-based life predictions and life extension actions through its DigitalClone® Live software platform. DigitalClone Live’s 3D prognostic watch lists deliver 18-month rolling forecasts of short and long-term prognostics and life extension action recommendations for inventory, maintenance, servicing forecasts and budgeting to the operator. Through its BuyOnLifeTM program, operators can purchase aftermarket parts from the supplier network based on the life impact of the offering. The software lowers the cost of operations across six business areas, operations and maintenance, asset management, supply chain, risk management, new business development and CXO governance. Sentient was founded in 2001, and has been awarded more than $30 Million in Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants to predict the earliest point in time cracks initiation in the microstructure of critical components under actual operating loading conditions. In 2010, NASA validated the small data approach by comparing computational test results from DigitalClone to 30 years of historical physical test data collected on a helicopter spur gear. The technology was honored in 2014 at the White House with the Tibbett’s Award, and the company accepted the 2016 Bloomberg New Energy Finance Pioneers Award for rapid commercial growth in the renewable market.

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About Sentient Science

Sentient Science provides operators and suppliers with forward visibility into the short and long term life of their critical components, major systems and offerings. Visibility is based on Sentient's digitalization strategy and ability to extend the life of existing and new assets. That ability is based on a new material science-based approach and... Learn More »